Forever lost
by writingwillow
Summary: A strange girl is wandering around and keeps winding up in front of the moonshine bar. Noticing her confused look Akira tries to help her but all she will ask for is directions to Greece. This takes place after the sixth book. AkiraxOC rated for later ch' Up for adoption.
1. Chapter 1

Forever lost

Disclaimer: I do not own Crescent moon, any countries, songs or mythological creatures used in this story. I do own my OC though.

**Forever lost**

I stood looking around confused. It was early morning and I still couldn't figure out where I was. I never had been able to find my way around cities I lost all sense of direction once I entered civilization. I would be okay if I had any idea where I was, but all I knew for sure was that I was a long way away from Athens. I was just standing there looking confused when someone noticed me.

"Hey, are you okay?" A tall boy with a bunch of facial piercings asked with concern in his voice. I looked at him with wide eyes.

"Oh, um…Yeah, I'm fine." I answered distracted. "Excuse me but, would you happen to know which way Athens is?" He thought for a moment, scratching the back of his head.

"Actually I'm not really sure what Athens is." He answered sheepishly. I blinked.

"Well, do you happen to know which way Greece is?" I asked. He looked at you confused.

"The country?" He asked surprised. I just nodded smiling at him. "But that's like on the other side of the world." He said incredulously.

"Oh," I said not really sounding surprised. "I guess it doesn't really matter which way I go then. So, where am I now?" I asked turning to him curiously. He looked at me curiously he had really big pretty eyes and earrings in both ears.

"Japan." He answered simply, as if he wasn't really sure what I was asking.

"Oh." I said, looking around me again. "Thank you." I smiled at him sweetly before turning to walk away.

--Akira's P.O.V. --

I walked back to the moonshine as the girl walked away she was pretty with long light green hair that had brown highlights. I looked back when I reached the door to see her walking away down the street, her flimsy white dress all that could be made out in the distance.

"Hey, what's up?" Nozomu asked as he walked into the shop portion of the Moonshine.

"What ya doin' out there?"

"Nozomu?" I asked.

"Yeah?" he returned.

"Where is Greece?" Nozomu blinked.

"The country?" He asked in slight disbelief. I nodded slowly.

"Greece is in Europe. It's probably the most famous country on the Mediterranean. Why?"

"There was this girl outside she looked confused so I asked if she was okay. She asked which way Greece was." I looked at him in confusion he had an eyebrow quirked and was looking at me in something between confusion and amusement.

--A few days later--

I was still walking around aimlessly. I was really just trying to keep going in one direction. Of course this was easier said than done when I ran into city after city. _Yeah, like I wasn't lost enough before._ I thought sarcastically. I knew that I was walking in circles when I recognized the boy that I had spoken to before.

It wasn't long before he spotted me looking around confusedly again. He immediately ran over to me, too fast for me to be able to even see his movements.

"Hey!" He called excitedly as he nearly jumped on top of me. "You're back. Did you find the Athens?" I gave him a blank look as he held me, barely inches away from him.

"Athens is a city." I said.

"Oh, did you find it? Why did you come back?" I smiled at him and shook my head.

"No, still lost. It would probably help if I had a sense of direction." He smiled widely, blushing slightly. Suddenly his face seemed to light up.

"Hey, have you eaten anything? You can come in and have breakfast with us. Nozomu used to be from Europe or something, maybe he can help you find the Athens place." I looked at him blankly and shook my head.

"I'll be okay. I should keep trying to find my way back." I pulled out of his loose grip and walked past him as a blond girl stood in the door of the shop that he had come out of, looking at me in open astonishment.

_Moonshine, _I thought, noting the name of the shop as I walked away, pointlessly trying to remember which turn I made where.

--Akira's POV--

_Ohhhhh,_ I pouted, _I guess she didn't want anything to eat. I wonder if she'll come back when she finds 'Athens'. _As I walked back I saw Mahiru looking at me strangely.

"Akira, who was that?" she asked.

"I don't know, she says she's lost. She's looking for 'Athens'." I answered scratching the back of my head and blushing a little.

"Athens?" she asked confused.

"She says it's a city in Greece, which Nozomu says a country on the Mediterranean." I answered her. She still looked a little confused but she nodded and left for school. (Really she's thinking _I don't know why I asked like I would understand when he said it._)

I walked inside and found Nozomu in the dinning room. I walked past him towards the stairs that led to our bedrooms when he stopped me.

"So did the Greek girl come back?" he asked suddenly, making me stop in my tracks. I looked back at him with eyes widened in surprise.

"How did you know?"

"I take it she did then. So did she ever find her way to Greece?" He asked.

"No, I told her you could probably help her, but she didn't want to come in."

"You said I could help her? Why?"

"You said that Greece was in Europe, I thought you would know how she could get there. I didn't even know what she was talking about."

"Not really, one of my parents was European, but I was raised in Japan remember. Did you even get her name this time?" I blushed as soon as he said it. I didn't even have to answer as he just started chuckling at my reaction and I walked up the stairs, ignoring Misoka as he entered the dinning room looking strangely at Nozomu, openly laughing at my retreat.

A/N Okay, that's it for my first chapter. The random meetings may go on for a bit, but I'm running out of things for them to say to one another. We should come up with her name pretty soon, but I'm really bad with names, and I don't want to use any from the established mythology since they should come into the story. I would appreciate any ideas anyone might have for this story, especially while she's still trying to go back to Athens.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Crescent moon.**

-------------Night, about a month later--------------

_It's getting dark_ I thought as I continued to wander yet another city. _Usually I would have at least found my way back to the continent by now, but all this stuff still looks Asian. I wonder if I've even gotten out of Japan. I wonder where I am anyway._

"Hey you're back!" I heard from behind me. I turned to see the same boy that had been trying to help me whenever I saw him.

"Hello." I said as he nearly pounced me, stopping only a centimeter or so in front of me.

"Hey, hey… What's your name, I never got it before." He said excitedly holding me close to him.

"I am called Willow." I answered looking at him as he grinned widely.

"Cool! I'm Akira! Did you ever find Athens?" He said never letting go of my arms. I smiled at him slightly when I saw him blush.

"No, I have not been able to find my way back to Athens." I answered. He looked confused. Then again, I had wandered around here several times, and I hadn't found my way back yet.

"Really? You must get lost a lot!" He said smiling down at me. After a moment he seemed to think of something and his smile widened. "Hey, why don't you stay the night with us?! You could meet my friends and have dinner with us!"

"No, I really should try to find my way back." I answered, even though I was fairly sure by now that I wouldn't find my way back at all. From the way I kept finding myself walking in circles I had a suspicion that someone was keeping me from going back.

"Awe, but, you haven't found your way back yet. One day isn't going to make that much difference. Besides it's already dark out, you'd have to find someplace to spend the night anyway." He said trying to persuade me, pouting slightly. I just looked at him oddly for a moment.

"Why would I have to find a place to spend the night?" I asked confused for a moment, he just looked at me blankly. He seemed to be trying to think of some way to answer my question when a short boy with glasses and long black hair stepped out and looked at us strangely. Akira immediately seemed to forget what I had asked and called excitedly to him;

"Hey, Misoka, this is my friend, Willow, can she stay with us tonight? She can stay in my room, I'll sleep on the couch!" Misoka looked at me suspiciously for a moment before nodding that I could come inside and muttering something about 'asking Oboro'.

As soon as Misoka said I could come in Akira grabbed my arm and pulled me into the shop smiling widely and all but bouncing to the door. Once we were inside it appeared that Misoka had disappeared though the others that were there looked at us with looks that ranged from confusion and curiosity to suspicion and barely veiled threats. Akira didn't seem to notice.

"Hey, this is Willow." He said excitedly.

---------------Story P.O.V.----------------

The first to recover from the shock of the girl's arrival was Nozomu. He welcomed her in with a smile.

"Welcome to the moonshine, you must be the girl looking for Athens." He said leading her in.

Willow was still a little confused at how she had wound up in this position herself so she could only nod. She was vaguely aware that she was being led away from the boy that had brought her in. She was led to a booth in the shop and was quickly greeted by a girl with blonde hair, apparently she was happy to have another girl around.

While Mahairu and Willow talked, or Mahairu talked, Nozomu pulled Akira aside to talk to him, either congratulating him on getting a girl in the house or trying to figure out just what was going on. It wasn't long until Misoka came back with an older man and a woman who looked to be in her twenties.

"You must be Willow." The older gentleman said bowing to her slightly. She bowed in return, nodding.

While Oboro spoke with Willow, Nozomu slipped over to Misoka.

"So what's the deal, she staying the night or what?" Misoka smirked slightly at the question before answering.

"Yes she'll be staying the night, but she may be more interesting than that, don't tell me you haven't noticed." He said quietly. Nozomu looked back at the girl for a moment.

"She's not human." He said calmly. Misoka simply nodded.

"I can't tell what she is exactly, but her energy is definitely not that of a human." He said after a moment. "She seems extremely cautious of us but we should try to find out what species she is." Nozomu nodded silently then smirked.

"Well the good news all we really have to do is have her touch the princess. She won't expect the activation of her powers to prevent the transformation, and she won't be able to deny what she is."

"We should tell Mahairu before hand though. It wouldn't do any good to have her startled and afraid of the girl like what happened with Mitsuru." Misoka amended slightly. Nozomu nodded in agreement and went to find Mahairu, who had wandered off somewhere when Oboro had come to speak with the girl.

"Misoka tells me that you're looking for Athens. You're a bit off course if you keep finding yourself here." Oboro said smiling. Willow nodded beginning to smile herself.

"Yes, unfortunately I seem to keep finding myself adrift here." She answered simply. It was the most she could say at the moment. He smiled kindly at her, which made her a bit nervous.

"Well you're welcome to stay here for the night at least." He said kindly.

Mahairu was in the kitchen, talking to Akira when Nozomu found her. This was probably a good thing since he could warn Akira as well. They turned to him as he came up to them.

"What's up?" Akira asked cheerfully. Nozomu smirked slightly before answering; it didn't look like Akira had noticed.

"Actually I came to ask the princess' help with something." He said.

"What do you need help with?" She asked bewildered.

"Misoka and I believe that Akira's new friend may not be human, and we were wondering if you wouldn't mind exposing her for us." he answered, smirking at their surprise.

"Why do you want to expose her?" Akira asked, looking mortified. Mahairu just seemed confused.

"If she's one of the lunar race why can't you just ask her about it?" She asked confused. Akira was just listening nervously.

"The problem with that is she doesn't know that we are, and she might not know herself." He answered simply.

"So you want Mahairu to go up and touch her so she'll transform!?" Akira asked indignantly.

"Actually I thought she could do it more stealthily." He answered nonchalantly.

"I'm sure it will be alright Akira. If she panics or something we'll all be there to make sure nothing happens." Mahairu tried to assure him. He still didn't look sure of this, but he didn't say anything when she and Nozomu went back into the shop, which was thankfully closed for the night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Crescent moon.**

When Mahairu walked back into the shop Oboro had already gone back to his office with Katsura. Willow was still in the booth, looking around nervously since no one in the room seemed to be the talkative type. Misoka had retreated to the bar where he was polishing the glasses, and Mitsuru was sitting across the room, watching the girl as if he expected her to launch some attack.

Mahairu slowly made her way over to Willow, trying to think of some excuse to touch her without being too obvious. Even though they hadn't spoken since the girl had arrived, she knew that Mitsuru didn't trust her, she just hoped that the girl wouldn't transform into something he would view as a threat.

After a few tense moments, Akira went to make dinner, telling everyone he wouldn't take too long. Somehow he felt like he was betraying Willow by letting them just force her to transform like this. He barely even knew her, didn't know anything about her, but he felt guilty, so he didn't want to be in the room.

When Mahairu got back to the table where Willow was sitting she smiled at her, noticeably more nervous than when she had first greeted her. Noticing her awkwardness, Nozomu went with her, sitting next to Willow while Mahairu sat across from them.

When neither of the girls seemed to speak, Nozomu figured he would have to start a conversation.

"So, Akira tells us you're from Greece." He said awkwardly. Willow smiled; she could already tell they were up to something, so she put her hands on the table in front of her. _'Might as well go along with it and find out.'_ She thought.

"For the most part, yes I'm from Athens." She answered calmly, watching them. Nozomu smirked.

"For the most part?" he asked mockingly. He was surprised when she looked him straight in the eyes, she was trying to see if he was well meaning behind his words. Still, she gave him a straight answer, if curt.

"I generally travel most of Europe, but I was born in Athens."

Taking her chance, Mahairu leaned forward, her arms on the table.

"Don't worry about Nozomu, he was just asking." She assured her new friend, nervously twisting her arm so their fingers touched.

A few tense moments passed, but nothing happened. Willow smiled inwardly, finally knowing what all of this had been about. At least she knew she didn't have to worry about it.

Mahairu and Nozomu exchanged nervous glances, her fingers were still brushed up against Willow's, but she wasn't transforming. Misoka watched from the bar, there was a suspended sense of anticipation, but nothing was happening and Mahairu pulled her hand back confused.

They sat and continued to talk, trying to get to know this new girl, though she was fairly quiet about her past, and wouldn't mention her family at all. They ended up talking mostly about Akira, he was the one who found her and convinced her to come in after all; they assumed she would be interested. She listened politely, but they did almost all of the talking, mostly out of nervousness. Through the whole thing Mahairu would occasionally brush her hand against Willow's, and once actually grabbed her hand, and still she didn't transform.

Eventually Akira reappeared, announcing that dinner was ready for them, and everyone got their food. He exchanged looks with Nozomu and Mahairu when he saw she was still in human form, but they just shrugged looking confused, and more than a bit nervous.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Crescent Moon.**

Willow woke up early in the morning and slid silently out of the room that Akira had loaned her. Without making a sound she went down the stairs, heading for the shop area of the building. She wasn't going to leave until someone was awake, so she could thank them and let them know she was gone, but she thought it would be best to wait somewhere other than the bedroom.

However, as she passed one of the doors she noticed it was silently open, and she recognized the voices coming from the other side as being Misoka and Akira. She hesitated in front of the door with the thought of making her excuses and leaving now, while she didn't have to deal with too many people. In her moment of hesitation however, she heard what they were saying.

"Akira, she's not human, therefore she has to be of the lunar race. The fact that she had enough control that she didn't transform when the princess touched her means she must have some knowledge of what she is, and how to control her transformations, which was more than Mitsuru did when he came here."

"You're acting like she's a threat or something! What if she's just been trained by her parents so she won't transform? What if she isn't even lunar and she just smells different because she's been traveling, or she meet someone who wasn't and it's their scent?"

Willow smiled softly hearing Akira defending her. She had carefully made sure the night before that they learned very little about her, none of them really knew anything about her, and he was defending her against his friend.

Deciding that it probably wasn't a good idea to interrupt them, or to stick around and see the outcome of the argument. Silently, she slipped past the door and into the shop. It took her longer than she would easily admit to find a napkin and a pen. A short note later she stepped out of the building, cursing the tiny bell that hung over the door, the only noise marking her escape.

In a room close to the shop, Akira heard a bell and suddenly stopped listening to whatever Misoka was trying to explain to him. Confused, he stood up and walked into the shop to find the disturbance. Noticing the change in him, Misoka followed silently.

As soon as he entered the shop, Misoka noticed the paper napkin on the counter. The message was simple, if a bit curt.

'_Thank you for your hospitality. I'm sorry but I must return to Athens as soon as possible._

_-Willow'_

Akira ignored it, going instead to the door. To his relief she hadn't gotten far, she wasn't even a block away when he caught up to her, Misoka just stepping through the door following him.

Akira caught up with her, grabbing her arms, his face inches from hers. He looked dejected.

"You were just going to leave?" he said, his eyes wide and miserable. He could almost see her melt a bit before she closed herself off.

"I didn't want to wake anyone, I left a note." She defended herself. It didn't seem to help and he still held her only inches away from himself.

Before he could respond to her, she stiffened in his arms. He hesitated, confused at the sudden change in her. To the surprise of both Akira and Misoka, still standing by the door, she easily broke out of Akira's werewolf grip and spun around, catching an arrow smoothly between her fingers, all in less than a second.

The boys didn't get a chance to sort out their confusion when two more arrows were shot. Willow caught the one aimed for Akira, but Misoka was forced to dodge one when she was only able to push him roughly out of the way.

Misoka slipped back into the doorway, a more defensive position while he waited to see who was firing on them. Dumbstruck, Akira was forced to the ground where Willow laid with her back against his chest, effectively forcing whoever was firing at them to shoot her before they could reach him.

Akira could barely breathe from the shock and confusion of suddenly having her lying on top of him this way, his brain having already shut down in the confusion of being attacked. He did however notice that she seemed to be glaring evilly at the sun, but this only confused him more.

They had been like that for maybe five minutes when both boys had to shield their eyes, the light becoming more than they could stand. A moment later the light was gone but a man was standing in front of them, well, not so much standing as he was leaning against a cherry red convertible parked side ways in the street blocking both lanes. He was tall and lean, with short dirty blond hair, wearing blue jeans and a rocker tee. He had a dark complexion, like he had just come out of a tanning salon.

As soon as she had seen him Willow had gotten off of Akira, instead standing protectively in front of him while he stood up himself, a bit more awkwardly.

"Apollo." She said stiffly, bowing slightly. He smirked at her, looking her up and down. Akira was almost surprised he wasn't licking his lips.

"There is no way for you to return to Athens." Apollo said menacingly, his smirk grew. "That is of course, unless I bring you back myself." Akira nearly growled at that comment, Willow was his friend, and he didn't like the way this guy spoke to her.

Willow's face hardened, her eyes narrowing on the god only a few feet in front of her.

"My answer is the same as it has always been no." she said harshly. Apollo's eyes narrowed on her, he seemed to be trying to think of a response, unsuccessfully.

Without an answer he advanced on her. Before Akira could come to her rescue she stopped him with a calm hand. Apollo tried to grab her arm, where Akira had grabbed her only minutes before, but she broke out of his hold, though not quite as easily. Stepping on a crack in the pavement, Willow willed a plant to grow, winding up her leg and into her hand she used a pointed edge of it to stab Apollo in the arm.

At the sudden pain Apollo flinched back. Noticing the bleeding puncture in his arm he looked back at her with startled, angry eyes. Cursing darkly he jumped back into his car and in a flash of blinding light he was gone again.

Akira and Misoka looked at her in amazed confusion as the vine shrank back into the crack in the pavement. She stood there nervously, waiting for either of them to say something, unable to think of anything to say herself. While they were there staring at each other, Nozomu came up behind Misoka.

"What's going on?" he asked confused. Misoka turned, stepping out of the door again. Nozomu followed him out looking at Akira and Willow.

Without warning, a young man with long black hair appeared behind her, startling all four of them.

"It seems our friend Apollo has had his say." Dionysus said touching Willow's shoulder. She turned to him and smiled, bowing to him as she did to Apollo, only with a good deal more respect.

"I take it Apollo is the one preventing me from returning?" she asked, ignoring the three boys watching them in confusion. Dionysus smiled at her apologetically.

"Unfortunately, sulky little brat, however, since you were being prevented from returning anyway, I was the one who kept leading you here. You might as well have some fun while he pouts right?" he said, his smile changing into a grin.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Crescent moon.**

Willow was sitting nervously on a couch in one of the private rooms in the Moonshine. Dionysus had disappeared not long after he had explained why she kept winding up at the restaurant, vanishing as suddenly as he had appeared.

She was waiting for Oboro to be woken, so he could be there while she explained just what she was, and what was going on. Akira and Nozomu sat across from her. Akira looked almost as nervous as she felt, Nozomu just looked confused.

When Misoka finally returned with Oboro, Nozomu was the first to actually speak.

"So what are you exactly?" he said, going straight to the point. She took a nervous breath, resigning herself for everything that they would ask.

"I'm one of the fey." She answered simply, looking back at him pointedly. As she had expected, the statement only confused them more.

"I don't believe I'm familiar with the fey," Oboro said carefully. "Do you live in the same reign as the moon palace?" She snorted softly, this was all going exactly as she had assumed.

"Like I said, I'm fey, not of the lunar race." She answered simply. She let the statement sink in for a moment before explaining. "Just like humans are spirits of the sun, and your lunar races are spirits of the moon, even the dawn's venus are spirits of the stars, guarding between the two, the fey are the spirits of the earth itself."

They were stunned for a moment, registering that there was another race walking the earth. It was eventually Akira who spoke.

"You know we're of the lunar race?" he asked nervously, trying to think of when it might have been given away. She smiled at him.

"The fey know a lot of things, one of them being how to tell the races apart." She answered, trying to reassure him. Unfortunately this startled them even more. Most of the world didn't know that the lunar race existed, how did a race they had never heard of not only know of them, but could tell between them easily.

"If you knew we were of the lunar race why didn't you say anything?" Misoka asked pointedly.

"My kind generally avoids being known, few of us even visit this realm in case we're discovered. You already assumed that I was lunar, if I had revealed that I knew about you, you would have wanted to know what species I was."

"For a race that keeps to secrecy you don't seem to have any qualms explaining any of this." The vampire observed wryly. Willow turned to him with a blank, if cold stare.

"We avoid being known, but Apollo already ruined any chance of that when he chose to confront me in front of your shop. As he and Dionysus pulled you all into this I felt that you at least deserved to know what we were."

"So these men, Apollo and Dionysus, they are fey as well?" Misoka asked. She seemed to consider it for a moment.

"We consider them fey, yes. Though they are not the same as most species of fey."

"What species of fey are you?" Akira asked hopefully, if more than a bit nervously. She looked a bit nervous to answer but did.

"I'm half fairy and half wood nymph."

"And the men, Apollo and Dionysus?" Nozomu asked. She looked surprised at the question, like they should have known.

"Both Apollo and Dionysus are gods of ancient Greece. Apollo the god of knowledge and medicine, who drives the sun across the sky, and Dionysus the god of wine."

The only one who seemed to recognize the gods was Misoka.

"They said that they were keeping you here, what did they mean?" he asked. Willow sighed.

"Apollo and I had a… disagreement, so he's been keeping me from returning to Greece. Since Dionysus found out he's been seen sending me here, apparently."

"They can just control where you go without you knowing?" Nozomu asked. She rolled her eyes.

"They are gods." She answered. "Apollo only had to keep me out of a certain area, from his vantage point in the sky that wouldn't have been too hard. Dionysus probably had the help of Hermes, the god of travelers."

"From what I've read the gods took an active role in the live of humans, not nymphs." Misoka observed.

"In ancient times, yes, the gods did show more interest in the humans than the fey. However, since humans have stopped worshiping them, and their temples have fallen into disrepair they tend to spend more time among their own kind. The interest they've taken in me even is rare."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Crescent Moon.**

Mahiru and Mitsuru walked into the shop to see Willow sitting awkwardly at the bar, talking to Nozomu and Misoka.

"So, what about your parents? You've been careful to avoid mentioning them." Nozomu asked. Mahiru started to go over to them, but Mitsuru held her arm, pulling her with him to sit at a table a few feet away.

"I'm not avoiding the subject, mentioning them is just irrelevant. They died when I was young so they had little barring on any of my life." She answered carelessly. Listening to them from where she was sitting, Mahiru looked at her sympathetically.

"How did they die?" she asked compassionately. Willow turned to look at them, nodding to them slightly.

"We were on vacation, Pompey or something I think. A mummy fell on them." She answered indifferently. Nozomu and Misoka's eyebrow's raised, Mahiru looked like she wanted to give her a hug.

"How did they die from a mummy falling on them?" Nozomu asked, confused.

"Well it didn't help that it had a sword. When it fell the sword went right through them. Thankfully I wasn't as fast as them, so I was a few feet behind when it happened." She answered simply. They still looked stunned when Akira came in to announce breakfast was ready a moment later.

The meal was quiet and a bit uncomfortable with everyone still trying to get to know the new girl, especially when Mitsuru and Mahiru were told that Oboro had decided she would stay indefinitely. They still knew little to nothing about her, though she was no longer hiding what she was from them. It wasn't actually until the shop was starting to open that someone thought to tell the other two what she was though.

"What do you mean you've found out what she is? We already knew what she was." Mahiru asked confused.

"Apparently she's not lunar." Nozomu informed. Both of them looked at him aggravated.

"She's a fairy." Akira told them happily. Mitsuru glared, scrutinizing her.

"Fairies don't exist." He spat at her, like it was an attack of its own. Akira almost looked defensive, but Willow just looked amused.

"A goblin just told me I don't exist?" she said incredulous. As soon as she said it his glare intensified, promising death, if he ever got the chance.

"I'm a tengu." He hissed at her, not realizing they had never been told that she knew what they were. Even Oboro wasn't aware that she already knew everyone's species. She just shrugged.

"Close enough in translation. Though I hope none of the goblins find out I said that, they'd be insulted." She said pensively.

Misoka and Akira had noticed how much more natural she acted, now that she wasn't hiding everything from them. The night before she had tried to be completely polite in everything; now she was proving that she actually had a personality. After seeing her short fight with Apollo and his encounter with her that morning, Akira didn't think Mitsuru would be much of a threat to her. Though he still didn't like the way Mitsuru was treating her, he accepted it knowing his friend. Mahiru was just glad to have another girl around.

The night proved fairly uneventful. Willow worked as another waitress and everything went smoothly. She had offered to pay Oboro rent when he invited her to stay, but he had insisted that helping out in the shop was the most he could ask of her. Even though it was her first day on the job, and she had admitted to never having worked in a restaurant before, she actually did really well.

When the last customer had left and the shop closed almost everyone sat down on whatever was closest.

"You sure you've never done this before?" Nozomu asked from where he was sitting at the edge of the stage. Willow was the only one still up, wiping off the last few tables. She just nodded to him, smiling.

"This is the first job I've ever had." She answered sheepishly. They looked at her in surprise.

"What did you live off of?" Akira asked sitting on one of the bar stools. She shrugged.

"I didn't really need any money. I never really stayed in one place long, and being basically a plant, I don't really need to eat." She answered simply. As soon as she had said it Akira looked up at her.

"You don't eat? How could you not need food?" He asked shocked. She smiled back at him.

"Like I said, I'm basically a plant. I can use photosynthesis so I don't need to actually eat anything." She answered offhandedly. Akira looked completely deflated. When she noticed, Willow looked apologetic, and at the same time confused about what she might have said to upset him.

"It doesn't hurt you to eat does it?" Mahiru asked, concerned. Willow smiled slightly, turning her attention back to the girl in front of her.

"It doesn't hurt me it just isn't actually necessary like it is for most races. It's only due to my being a tree spirit on both sides of my heritage that I can even use photosynthesis. Most of the fey are unable, even the fairies eat fruits and things that grow there and can only subsist on sunlight." She explained indifferently.

"You said before that the greek gods had taken an unusual interest in you," Misoka said, continuing his questions now that everyone was around to hear. "What did you mean?"

"Since my parents were of different species of fey, there was a bit of a problem when they died to see which family would raise me. After a while a few of the gods stepped in and I was actually raised mostly on Olympus." She answered simply. It didn't bother her anymore that she was telling things that her race may prefer they didn't know, she trusted them.

"A few of them?" Akira asked curiously. "Which of the gods raised you?" She smiled at him.

"I was mostly raised by Hades, Athena, and Hermes." She answered thoughtfully.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Crescent moon. Warning, spoilers from book 6.**

Time went on as normal, and it wasn't long before Willow had been completely accepted by the group at the moonshine. Within a few days she had a room of her own, though she had insisted that it wasn't necessary, she didn't take up much space. After a week or so, even Mitsuru seemed to have accepted the new girl.

Life eventually developed into something of a pattern. Akira had convinced her to allow him to keep cooking for her, and often you could find her sitting in the kitchen with him, if they weren't off playing some game.

After the first couple of times she had gone out into the city, they had decided she shouldn't travel alone. She could usually find the park without a problem, but lost any sense of direction the further into 'civilization' she went. If she had to go anywhere usually Akira or Misoka would offer to go with her. They were the ones she was closest to.

As time wore on, Mahiru talked with Willow more and more, almost always around the subject of Mitsuru, or boys in general. Not being in school anymore, she missed having other girls her own age to talk to, and she couldn't really talk to her friends much anyway, since she was dating a tengu. With another girl who knew about the lunar race, it almost seemed like she was catching up on all the girl talk she couldn't do before. Willow wasn't really that talkative, but she listened well, and was actually fairly insightful.

A couple of weeks after Willow had started living with them she was sitting with Mahiru in one of the booths in the shop while Mahiru told her stories about when she first met the guys, and everything that had been happening around that time. It had surprised everyone when Willow didn't need an explanation about the mysterious incurable illness that had been plaguing their people, or the tear drops of the moon, she explained it by simply saying 'fairies know a lot of things.' At the moment Mahiru was telling her about the Dawn's Venus and everything that had happened between the two groups, particularly concerning a dark haired classmate of hers and the resident werewolf.

During the telling Akira had actually stuck his head in to see what they were talking about, and quickly retreated with an embarrassed blush staining his face. Mahiru told her all about what happened between Akira and the seer from Dawn's Venus, and by the time she told her how Akira and Nozomu helped her find out how her fiancé felt, and she chose him over Akira, Willow looked incredulous.

"Why would she choose him over Akira?" She asked disbelieving. Mahiru just looked at her blankly, but Nozomu smirked from where he stood behind the counter and made a mental note to tease Akira about it later.

"What do you mean?" Mahiru asked her ivy haired friend.

"Compared to Akira, your friend chose an older man whose feelings for her she had spent years doubting and had, at least once told her that he only cared for her because of her role as a seer." Willow answered, wrinkling her nose slightly. When Mahiru didn't have an answer she sighed. "She must have had very powerful memories and very strong feelings for the man for her to make a choice like that." She answered herself thoughtfully.

The conversation having taken an awkward note, Mahiru looked around for something else to talk about.

"Akira tells us that you're an artist." She said as soon as the thought came to mind. Willow blinked at her for a moment but nodded.

"It's not uncommon on Olympus." She answered dismissively. "Actually it may be how my problem with Apollo started." Mahiru looked at her sympathetically.

"How?" she asked curiously. Willow shrugged.

"Apollo is often considered the god of the arts because he lives with the muses." She answered dismissively.

"The muses?" Mahiru asked, confused.

"The nine goddesses that represent each of the arts and bring inspiration to artists." She explained simply. "The muses were always very kind to me, and they taught me to paint and draw."

"How did that start your problem with Apollo?" Mahiru asked taking a sip of her drink. Willow smiled at her.

"Apollo found me there a few times, and decided he would like to see me there more often, but he was never very polite about my presence and I couldn't usually stay long if he was there. As I got older, his attitude got worse, he isn't exactly used to people turning him down."

By now they were getting the shop ready to open that night, and it wasn't long before everyone was helping out. They were wiping down the tables and making sure everything was clean when they heard something at the door. Misoka turned to the door, only to find no one there but a faint orange glow hovering near it on the other side.

When Willow saw the glow she immediately left the rag she was using to wipe down one of the tables and walked over to it, inviting it into the shop and bowing slightly to the glow as she ignored the raised eyebrows of her new friends. She seemed to be listening to whatever it was before she answered it in a soft, formal voice.

"I assure you it is safe, they are friends." After she said it the glow seemed to hover for a moment before expanding into a vaguely human shape. At full size he was only a little over four feet, with dark shimmering blue wings, skin a slightly lighter shade of blue and bright orange hair, still bathed in an orangish glow. He looked over the bandits skeptically as he addressed Willow.

"I come bearing a message from your grandmother." He said formally and bowed deeply. "She has fallen ill and wishes to see you; a circle has been made nearby. I can escort you there now."

Willow looked surprised at the message, and a little troubled.

"I'm afraid I have to work tonight," she answered, not missing his look of surprise and, almost horror, at the mention of her working. "I will follow you to the portal, but you will have to wait until we close."

"I understand, time is not yet of the essence, I will wait here until you are able to go." He said, again bowing formally. "Is the perchance a place I can wait where I won't be seen?" he asked a bit nervously. This time it was Misoka who answered, remembering that Willow had mentioned her race's preference for secrecy.

"You can stay in one of the rooms in the back, follow me." He said and led the pixie out of the room.

"I thought you said you had a problem with your families." Nozomu asked confused.

"I said there was a problem deciding which family would raise me, considering my double heritage, I'm actually a bit more powerful than either fairies or nymphs, inheriting the powers of both." She answered embarrassed.

"I wonder why he didn't just come in, the door shouldn't have been a problem," Akira asked curiously.

"Fey can't enter a building unless they are invited in." Willow explained simply.

"Well, that's polite." Mahiru observed looking slightly confused. "Is your grandmother going to be okay?" she asked sympathetically. Willow looked a bit worried.

"I don't know, but that's probably why she wants to see me. At her age she can't take too many chances."

Slowly everyone fell back into what they were doing before, and soon customers started to arrive. Running back and forth to the kitchen to get orders, Willow would chat a bit with Akira, and about halfway through the night he asked if he could go with her to visit her fairy grandmother.

"I could take you to the world of fey with me," she answered smiling, "but the spell to get through the fairy circle is a little silly." He grinned back at her.

"I can go? Cool!" he answered excitedly.

"Actually I think you'll like it there." She said carrying her tray back out to the shop.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Crescent moon.**

As soon as the last customer left the Moonshine, Akira and Willow were getting ready to leave, and explaining that Akira was going with her to the messenger pixie. Their friends offering to take care of anything in the shop, and with Willow's assurance that they could find anything they need at her grandmother's house, they were off, following the pixie towards the park.

Willow and Akira walked slightly behind the pixie as they followed him further away from the paths and into the bushes of the park where they wouldn't be seen. Willow walked close to Akira, noticing her nervousness he smiled and grabbed her hand, hoping that she wouldn't need to be too worried about her grandmother.

They hadn't been in the park long before the pixie messenger stopped at a large circle of mushrooms. Akira looked curiously at the circle before looking back at the pixie, who was no looking at him strangely, having noticed that their hands were connected.

Wordlessly, the pixie made a few almost dance like motions and jumped into the circle, disappearing before he touched the ground. Willow carefully led Akira through the motions of the spell, chanting softly, before they jumped together through the circle of mushrooms.

Akira couldn't believe his eyes, the jump had been almost instantaneous, there was a moment of bright light and he was standing in the middle of a forest. What truly amazed him were the plants around them, the trees were all green, almost everything had some sort of flower, everything was so green and healthy it was almost glowing, but the most amazing thing to him where the mushrooms. The circle of mushrooms they had jumped through was no longer there, instead there were gem stones where the mushrooms had been, but all around them the forest was filled with mushrooms the size of trees. He would have sworn he had shrunk, but the grass was the same beneath his feet, the stones and flowers were the same, and there were even trees dotted around the mushrooms as well.

By the time Willow and Akira had arrived in the world of fey, the messenger that had led them there was gone. Outside the circle of gems there was only a fairy dress left for Willow to put on when she arrived.

Slightly nervous she grabbed the dress and went to change behind one of the mushrooms. When she came back Akira couldn't believe his eyes. The dress was white and simple; it looked like a bunch of cloths hanging around her body, and was tied together with a rope at her waist, but what took his breath away were her wings. Fluttering open behind her were beautiful iridescent blue green wings that looked like water. As she got closer, he also noticed for the first time that she had vines growing out of her head, blending in and being hidden by her hair, and he wondered why she kept everything hidden.

"Sorry, they might not have recognized me before." She explained nervously.

"Why do you keep your wings hidden?" he asked in slight awe. She smiled embarrassed.

"Most humans don't have wings." She answered shrugging. She thought he would pout for a moment.

"We aren't humans though." He said, sounding almost hurt. She smiled apologetically and gave him a small hug.

"But we live in the human's realm, and my kind are prone to secrecy. There's too big a risk of someone else seeing me." She tried to explain. When it didn't seem to work she sighed. "Well, think of it this way, now you got to be the first one to see them."

After that he seemed to cheer up, and she led him through the forest. Really they weren't that far, within a few minutes they could see the mushrooms thinning out and they started to see a few houses. Once again Akira was awed by what he saw as they came closer to the fairy city, rows and groups of houses of every shape and color surrounding a large glittering castle. More amazing, he noticed, was that everything was completely natural, made of twigs and stones, sea shells and gemstones. Everywhere he looked he couldn't find one thing that might be artificial. The whole city looked like it might have simply grown that way. There were even a few houses, he noticed as they walked through, made out of large hallowed out mushrooms.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Crescent Moon.**

Akira grabbed Willow's hand again, this time so they wouldn't get separated while he looked around as she led him through the city. A few of the fairies were out in the streets or tending to their gardens. He was a little surprised by how much attention they seemed to get just walking past. Nervous he looked ahead of them and tried to guess which house Willow's grandmother would live in, the little one three houses down with honeysuckle growing up the walls, the house a little further that faded into one of the enormous mushrooms.

Each time they passed one of the houses he had guessed he would look a little further down the road, closer to the castle at the center of the city. As they got closer to the castle Akira noticed that the buildings directly around the castle weren't houses, but businesses. Each of them had a sign over their door or in one of their windows, which were really just holes in the wall with braces around them. The closer they got to the castle, the more attention they seemed to draw as well.

"So where does your grandmother live?" Akira asked as they stepped into the line of shops, he expected her to say that there were more houses on the other side of the castle somewhere. The city seemed to have developed in a circle around it.

Willow looked back at him a bit nervously.

"My grandmother lives in the castle, there in the center." She said pointing up to the glittering structure. When she saw his shocked expression she started fidgeting nervously. "I guess I probably should have mentioned that before. It was never a big deal to me, so I guess I just didn't think of it." She said, more nervous trying to explain this than she was changing in the forest with him not ten feet away.

"Um… she lives in the castle?" Akira asked sure he must have heard her wrong.

"My grandmother is the queen of the fairies." She explained leading him closer to the gate of the palace. Akira was having trouble believing what he heard.

"So, are you a princess or something?" he asked blinking at her innocently. She just nodded, leading him past the gate by his hand. He didn't ask any more questions, but his excitement grew as they walked through the courtyard of the fairy palace as he looked at everything around him.

The walls of the palace were made mostly of stone, with nothing holding it together that he could see, it almost looked like a solid piece but there were gemstones dotted throughout the structure, and very thin seams where the stones were fit together like pieces of a puzzle. Inside the floors were made of beautiful dark wood smooth as marble.

As they stepped inside a fairy approached them, she was beautiful with long sandy hair and a lavender dress that looked like a real flower.

"Lady Willow, Master Akira," she greeted them curtsying, "Our mistress the queen asked that you see her in the third library."

"Thank you Lavender." Willow replied with a friendly smile. Lavender glanced at Akira and giggled slightly.

"I don't think she was expecting you to bring a visitor." She giggled. "I wish I could see how they get along." Willow's smile nearly fell at the thought but when she answered it was with a laugh in her own voice.

"I'm sure she's had plenty of warning. I'll tell you how it goes later." Willow promised waving to the girl as she walked down another corridor. She smiled and pulled on Akira's hand as she led him further into the castle.

"Is she your friend?" he asked after a moment. She led him to a staircase before she smiled back at him.

"Lavender works here at the castle. She used to come here with relatives when she was young so we know each other fairly well."

"She came here with her relatives?" Akira asked curiously. "How much of her family works here?"

"Mother, a few others now too I think." Willow answered. Akira went back to looking around them as they walked.

"This place is amazing," Akira commented as they passed a second staircase. "Do you know how they got the gemstones in the walls?" he asked looking at her curiously. She smiled at him.

"The castle was built with the help of the dwarves, a show of gratitude after they had a particularly bad winter in the mountains, the fairies brought them food and water while their crops were dying out." She explained.

"I thought all fey were earth spirits. Are the dwarves fey too?" he asked confused. She smiled at him again.

"The dwarves are fey; they're mountain spirits and primarily stone smiths. Like the lunar race there are all kinds of races among the fey. Fairies and nymphs are plant spirits, dwarves, gnomes and golems are mountain spirits, I'm not sure what the elves, or the dark elves would be." She explained thoughtfully. Akira smiled at her again. He would have said something else but she stopped.

"This is it, the third library." She warned him before opening the door.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Crescent Moon.**

Akira and Willow walked into the library to see a slim old woman with long snow white hair and grey eyes sitting at one of the tables. As soon as they had entered the woman looked at them both appraisingly.

"Princess Willow." The woman said almost coldly.

"Your Highness." Willow answered calmly, curtsying. An amused smile broke out over the old woman's face.

"You are too formal with your grandmother child. You are royalty as well, don't forget it." She watched Akira as the two walked up to her. "And you must be Akira."

Unsure of what exactly he should do he bowed to the old woman nervously. She seemed to be glaring at him slightly, but when she spoke her voice was kind.

"It's been many centuries since any of the lunar race has come to our home, or indeed even seen any of the fey and known them." The side of her mouth quirked into a small smile when he stood up looking surprised, "I dare say your kind has completely forgotten us. We are no longer even in your legends these days, even human legends remember us to some extent."

Akira felt somehow that he should have said something, apologized for the lunar race having forgotten them somehow. He opened his mouth but couldn't think of anything to say no matter how hard he tried. Beside him Willow elbowed him slightly.

"She's teasing you." She said softly. Akira gapped at her silently as she stepped away from him and sat across the table from her grandmother. Looking at them both at once he was struck for a moment, realizing how much the two looked alike, and at the same time seeing many of their differences.

While the fairy queen was slightly larger than her granddaughter, they had the same structure, small and slightly child-like. They were both obviously adult, though (and he had honestly tried not to notice) Willow's chest was slightly larger than her grandmother's, the two had a similar figure, or rather lack of one. Having heard some of the human's fairy legends from Misoka, particularly since Willow had come to stay with them, he could understand why fairies were so often seen as being eternal children.

Another thing that had caught Akira's eye was that Willow's grandmother didn't have leaves and vine's growing from her hair. The fairy queen's hair was pure white cascading to her waist.

He remembered he had once asked Willow about the vines growing from her head, Misoka had noticed and hoped that it wouldn't cause them any un-wanted attention. She had told him that she couldn't entirely hide her appearance as a plant spirit, and given that, as her namesake, she was a weeping willow, this was the mark she was unable to fully mask. Usually her hair masked the vines growing from her head, but they became more noticeable the closer she was to her actual plant form.

Akira followed Willow to the other side of the table and sat next to her.

"She teases people?" he asked softly, nervously. Willow smiled at him.

"Even royalty are people." She answered him with a shrug before turning back to her grandmother. "You sent for me?" she asked, wanting to get right to the point in case it was something important.

The old woman smiled slightly looking away from the werewolf and back to her granddaughter.

"I'm getting older, and my time is nearly through." She said, her face serious, but still slightly cheerful. "I thought to try convincing you to come back to the palace. It will be easier for you to take my place if you're already accustomed to living in the palace." Beside Akira Willow grimaced.

"I will not be taking your place as queen." She answered softly. Her grandmother seemed to ignore her.

"I will have someone lead your friend back to the human's plane, already there are visitors, ambassadors, from the other royal families to speak with my heir."

"Your highness," Willow said firmly, her grandmother looked at her sharply, but stopped to listen all the same, "As I have always said, I refuse the position of your heir, I will not be taking your place as the queen, whether you step down or die. I have long refused my station as royalty and will not be brought into your politics now." By the time Willow was finished speaking her grandmother was positively glaring at her.

"You prefer to rule in the weak royalty that was your father's?" she said accusingly. Willow sat very still, the only sign that she hadn't resigned the fight the determined fire in her eyes.

"I have no intention of being a part of any royal family, yours or otherwise. I have less contact with my father's family than I have with you." Beside her, Akira was trying to sink into his chair, his wolf tail twitching nervously behind him, and his ears folded back nervously.

The queen sighed heavily.

"You know you are the only one of my granddaughters able to speak to me in such a manor." She watched as Willow avoided her gaze. "As well as the only fairy in existence that is on such good terms with the dark elves. They listen only to you, and it is often all I can do to convince them to speak with anyone else."

Willow glanced at her grandmother sharply.

"Then call me to speak with them when you have need." She said determinedly, "Fairies rarely have reason to deal with the dark elves, or I could speak to them so that they will listen to someone else."

"I will not allow you to go with your father's kind, the fairies need a queen of your strength."

"I refuse to be a part of any royal family, whether it be yours or my father's." Willow insisted angrily. "No matter what your argument, I will not be kept here. I will act as your ambassador to the dark elves, but I refuse to have any more to do with royalty."

While looked anything but happy about it, the fairy queen eventually accepted Willow's refusal. Still, she insisted that the two stay in the castle for the night, they could leave the next morning when it was light. From what Akira could tell, the queen didn't want her granddaughter to leave with the two of them on bad terms.


	11. Chapter 11

**To do list**

**Post stories**

**Check emails**

**F**ind notes:

Find pictures:

Pkmn maps, Hoen, Kanto, Jhoto, Sinoh. Hopefully with notes on them, which are gym towns, what gym, names of towns and roads.

Artemis Fowl

Check Nintendo and Playstation web sites, try to find out how to pitch pkmn breeder and primary village games.

55

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5555&55255A55¿55Í55 55ý555555555555ý555555555555ý555555555555ý555555555555ý555555555555ý555555555555ý555555555555ý555555555555ý 555 ge round bed in the center of the room, "I thought maybe you would like to go exploring the city afterwards."

Akira's expression brightened at her words and she could see his tail wagging behind him again.

"Yeah!" he said excitedly, "I'd really like to see what's around here. Can we go back to see the big mushrooms?" Willow's smile widened slightly and she nodded, standing up.

"First we have to find Lavender though, there are just a couple of places we'll check," she said, "It shouldn't be hard to find her."

Akira followed her out of the room, staying close to her and once again taking her hand in his. Willow looked at their hands when she felt him take hers in surprise. She smiled softly and dismissed it. She already knew that the lunar race was a different from the fey as they were from humans, and Akira was a perfect example of this. She knew he didn't mean anything by it, he was just being friendly, she had made friends with all of them at the Moonshine, after all.

Willow and Akira eventually found Lavender in one of the smaller gardens, picking berries from some of the bushes where they grew against the wall of the castle. She greeted them happily, like old friends, and the three of them sat beneath a small willow tree next to a pond where they watched the fish swim by them.

"So how did things go?" Lavender asked smiling at Willow, "Is she still trying to convince you to become queen?" Akira looked back at his friend as she seemed to grimace at the immediate direction of the conversation.

"I refused, as always." She answered simply, leaning against the tree tiredly, her wings folding back slightly so that they weren't crushed.

"You would make a good queen you know," Lavender told her, her own pale purple wings fluttering open slightly, stretching them as she looked over the berries she'd collected. Willow looked at the grass next to her sadly.

"I know everyone thinks that, because of my relationship with each of the royalties, with the Olympians, but I hate having this forced on me. I don't want to be royalty, I never did." She told the girl. Lavender looked at her with pity in her eyes, already knowing this about her old friend.

"Still, things will go as they are meant to. The queen won't force you, even the power she possesses cannot change her nature as a fairy." Lily said softly. "How did she get along with Master Akira?" His ears twitched as he heard his name and he watched them as Willow gave a small, humorless smile.

"She was stiff." She answered simply. Akira's eyes widened in surprise at the answer.

"I thought you said she was teasing me?" he asked her, "That doesn't seem stiff, what is she like normally?"

"She was teasing him!?" Lavender asked, shocked.

"Lady Magnolia isn't usually playful," Willow explained to Akira softly, "She usually only does so when she's unsure of the person in question. As Lavender had expected, bringing you with me just took her a bit off guard."

"But what did she tease him about?!" Lavender asked, nervous and excited at the same time, "Not the two of you holding hands?" Willow shook her head, calmly at the girl, who looked surprised again with the answer.

"She only teased him about being the first of the lunar race to visit the fey in memory." She told the girl. Lavender blinked at the explanation.

"That's right, I suppose it is something of a big deal. Even Queen Magnolia herself would have only been a very small child the last time the fey spoke openly with the lunar race." Willow nodded at the observation.

"If I'm not mistaken in my dates," she said thinking about it, "Lady Magnolia would have just been born earlier that week. Anyone old enough to know anything of it is dead now."

"Willow," Akira asked softly. She turned to him with a small smile. "How old is your grandmother?" He hoped the question wasn't rude of him in any way, but they had spoken of the last dealings of the fey and lunar races as something out of legend and myth.

"She should be what…?" she looked at Lavender with confusion on her face, "Several thousand years at least." Lavender nodded calmly.

"I'm not sure myself either," she said dismissing the question.

It wasn't long before Lavender had to go back to work, picking berries in the gardens. Willow took Akira out to explore the area a bit. As they walked, Willow explained things to him. The mushrooms were normal there, and assumed to be the reason humans were under the impression that to go to the realm of the fey you had to shrink. Few humans had ever made it to their realm, but they weren't generally a violent people, not most of them, particularly not fairies themselves, and they were usually the guards of the few portals between the realms.

More often than not, Akira would think of something to ask, and Willow would simply answer him, showing him to some of her favorite spots around the palace and the surrounding area. She was well known, being the princess, but she didn't seem to know too many people in the palace or outside of it. She didn't like the idea of being known for being a princess.

Time wore on slowly as they walked around, and as the sun began to sink lower into the sky (time moving somewhat more slowly in this realm, or at least it seemed to do so with the movements of the sun) she lead him back towards the palace. She told a servant as they went in that she and Akira would eat together, in one of the smaller rooms away from the main dining hall.

Akira was more than impressed with the food the fairies brought them. He had been disappointed at first, noticing that they brought only fruits and vegetables, and those mostly fresh, just picked out of the gardens, but when he tasted what was brought he found he barely missed having meat. They drank from crystal glasses, and their bowls were giant acorn caps. They drank clear water, sweeter than any he had ever tasted, and he had a hard time believing the dinner that they were presented.

Willow just smiled at him, happy to see that he was enjoying himself, explaining to him again that the fey were spirits of the earth itself. They knew how best to grow things, and that was often where their magic lay.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Crescent Moon.**

After dinner Willow took Akira out to the gardens again. The air was so clear and pure there that even with only a sliver of the moon showing the light of the stars shone, glittering on the walls of the palace as she led him out. He was a bit surprised to see that most of the fairies were still out, gardening by the light of the stars.

She led him out of the town and into a grove of trees just out of the sight of the palace, her blue green wings fluttering slightly behind her when she ran, her feet barely touching the ground in most places. She smiled up at the trees dotted everywhere with tiny white flowers. She didn't say anything or make any move giving him any clue as to why she had brought him there, she was simply still, smiling up at the trees.

Curious, Akira sniffed the air, noticing a sharp, citrus scent around the trees. Willow didn't seem to take any notice of him until he wandered over to one of them. Her wings fluttered and she followed him, hovering just behind him a few feet in the air and she held her hand out under the closest branch. As she did Akira watched as one of the budding fruit matured and dropped into her hand in front of him as if by her command.

"This is one of my favorites of the palace orchards." She told him, dropping the lemon into his hands and grinning slightly. "The trees here are always so calm."

"A lemon orchard?" he asked, grinning at her slightly.

"Most of them are lemon, yes." She answered dismissively. "Though a few of the other trees have moved into the area as well, the ones who like the calmness that the lemons here tend to give off."

"The trees move themselves?" he asked confused. She smiled back at him.

"Of course the trees move themselves. They have just as much right to be where they decide as we do."

A few minutes later Lavender ran out to meet them smiling.

"The queen has arranged a farewell party for just before dawn for the both of you. Everyone should be there… it's been so long since you've seen all of them." She was so happy with the news she'd begun to give off a faint purple glow. Willow couldn't help but smile at how happy she was as well.

"If the party has already been set then I suppose we should get some rest so we can enjoy it properly." Her smile widened when she noticed Akira's ears and tail out, excited at the prospect of a fairy party.

"I can take you to rooms where you can rest and get some sleep." Lavender nodded, leading them back towards the palace.

"They're throwing us a party?" Akira asked grinning at her. She nodded.

"They tend to be pretty big, and its best if we get some sleep before we head back anyway." She told him. He nodded, bouncing along after Lavender as she led them through the corridors, first to a large bedroom where she informed him he would stay before telling Willow that she could stay in the room she'd used on any of her previous visits.

**Sorry it's been so long since I've posted.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own Crescent Moon.**

Akira woke little after midnight to the sound of a light knock on the door to the room he'd been told to use. Crawling off of the large, over-soft bed in the center of the room he opened the door to see Willow in a slightly more elaborate fairy dress than the one she'd changed into shortly after their arrival.

"We should head to the main chamber soon, the guests have already begun to arrive. Nero, an old friend of mine, will meet us and lead us in." She handed him some new clothes for him to change into and he grinned, hugging her tightly for a moment before leaping away to put them on. She smiled and waited just outside the door for him to join her a moment later.

As she led him back down to the main chamber where they were to meet Nero, Akira asked her all sorts of things about faries and the other races of the fey while she listened and answered as politely and accurately as she could. She was just trying to answer one of his more random questions as they entered the large hall and the dark elf greeted her smiling.

"The little Willow, It has been some years since you've been to your grandmother's palace." He was just slightly taller than Akira, with perfectly straight, long black hair falling past his waist, slender and graceful, like any of the elven races, and so pale that, with the slight blue tinge to his skin that marked him as a dark elf (along with the color of his hair) he looked as though he were made of starlight himself.

"Prince Nero," she greeted him, smiling as she curtsied, the elf bowing to her in response. "It has been some time. I must remember to visit you and your father some time, though perhaps not until this business with my grandmother's heir is decided."

"You are always welcome in our halls," he said smiling, and turning his attention to Akira bowed once more, though not quite as low. "And who is the friend behind you?" Willow smiled, turning to Akira.

"This is Akira Yamabuki, of the lunar race, a fairy friend." Akira bowed to the elf, unsure what to do. Nero simply turned his attention back to Willow.

"Does this mean that the Queen has finally pestered you into accepting the position when she's gone?" He looked at her, almost hopefully, "You know the dark elves would support you, as well as almost any other race. Any of us would be happy to see you rule here." Willow shook her head and the elf stopped talking.

"I still have no intention of ruling, this or any race, that's the problem." She told him, looking somber now, but she smiled slightly, "Eventually the Queen will have to accept that. Now, this is no time for such serious discussion, we're supposed to be going to a party." Nero smiled at her and turned to walk at her side.

"Akira," the elf began, looking over to the surprised werewolf, "I'm afraid I don't go to the human realm much, I believe you're the first of the lunar race I've met. You were one of the ones after the teardrops of the moon aren't you?" The shock on Akira's face at this point was almost comical.

"How do you know about..."

"The fey know many things." Willow told him for probably the thousandth time. The three of them were walking alongside each other easily now, and while they were nearing the door, Akira noticed that Nero made no move to take Willow's arm to lead her out. Akira grinned slightly, happy that there was at least some sign that the two weren't as close as they seemed.

"Uh... yeah, I was with the moonlight bandits, taking back the teardrops. But that was only because we needed them, the lunar race..." he was cut off from his uncerain admittance when Willow once again cut him off.

"Don't worry about it," she said smiling at him sweetly. As they were about to go out into the party itself, and Nero still hadn't taken Willow's arm, Akira stepped a little closer and wrapped her arm around his, drawing looks from Nero as well as Willow. Still, she didn't pull away anyway.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own Crescent Moon.**

Akira found it distractingly odd, the flow of the party at the fairy palace. There seemed to be no set rhythm. There was a banquet to one side, though he was slightly dissapointed to see almost no meat on the table, Willow had warned him before hand that most fey rarely, if ever ate meat, so a vegitarian diet was somewhat expected. When they had entered there had been a good amount of attention on them, and he was surprised how much of it was directed at himself.

He had walked out into the crowd with Willow's arm held in his, and everyone, in particular the white haired queen, looked him over curiously, a few of them in a less than friendly way. Nero had looked put out, and seemed to be still watching him now, even after Willow had disentangled herself from his arm. Now she was somewhere out in the middle of a dizzying array of different kinds of fey. It almost made him dizzy to watch them, twirling and spinning around each other, somehow none of them ever came too close to each other, and when they did it seemed almost deliberate, and still no one would touch anyone else.

Akira watched Willow dance, and noticed her looking in his direction. He grinned, until he realized she was looking at Nero as he watched the dance as well. Akira's ears drooped towards his head, since everyone here seemed to know who he was already there was no need for him to hide his being a part of the lunar race, so he let his ears and tail show. It was nice, actually, not having to hide his features from everyone. Nero smiled softly, watching Willow as she danced in and out through the crowd of fairies, pixies, elves, and others of the earthen race. It was a fairly common dance to the fey, fiaries just seemed to take it more seriously than most others. They watched the dance as if looking for mistakes, though Akira wasn't sure if mistakes were even possible, there didn't seem to be any rules at all.

Willow spun in and out of the dancers until she could move out, and moved toward one of the light haired elves nearby, beckoning and pulling her towards the dance though they never touched. The elven maid looked nervous and unsure of herself, but gave in and joined the dance, twirlling in and out of the crowd with the fairy. Next Willow moved over beckoning Nero in amongst the group as well, pulling him towards the golden elf who wouldn't look in their direction.

* * *

After the party began to die down, fairies and other creatures twirling and dancing away into the early morning. Akira had just enough time to change back into his normal clothes before someone was at his door to lead him out of the palace.

"The Princess is in the Library with Queen Magnolia. She will meet you outside of the palace."


End file.
